This invention relates to a diagnostic and teaching game and, in particular, to a learning cube used together with a learning game board, the combination of which is particularly helpful with language learning disabled children.
The use of educational board games is known in the prior art. There are many games commercially available which have educational aspects. Many such games require that the child who will play the game shall have a rudimentary ability to read or count or recognize colors. There are very few games in the prior art which enable a player to come to the playing board and enjoy play at that board without such rudimentary knowledge wherein numbers, or letters, and colors provide important aspects of playing at the board.
It is the intent of the present invention that, with very little adult supervision, a child, especially of preschool age and experience, will come to learn their letters, numbers, and colors in the course of playing the game. It is also the intent of the present invention to provide a child with a way to read and learn that utilizes the tactile senses while stimulating the cognitive learning process. The present invention may be used to encourage the learning process, no matter what the player""s level is, while providing a sense of achievement by offering the player something they can learn. The present invention can also be used by professionals to identify problem areas and provide a tool as part of a therapist plan.
The present invention is particularly useful with language learning disabled children, in addition to the adult rehabilitation population, special educators, and adults who have had strokes which have damaged the left language-learning side of their brains.
The present invention is comprised of a number of large, tactically soft, cubes, and a number of learning boards. Each side of a learning cube has imprinted thereon a teaching concept. For instance, numbers, in both alpha and numeric form, may be imprinted on several cubes depending on how high the number chain being taught will progress. A corresponding learning board with spaces and imprinted numbers thereon is provided. A numbered learning cube may be rolled by one or more children and a number that they see as they pick up the learning cube sounded out. The corresponding number is then selected on the learning board. Participants are encouraged to learn while playing a game. The player""s dexterity, sorting skills and eye-hand coordination are also simultaneously built.
These, together with other objects of the invention, along with various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention.